


A Promise Broken

by unremarkablegirl



Category: I Medici | Medici: Masters of Florence (TV)
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, F/M, Ficlet, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Introspection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:29:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27137324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unremarkablegirl/pseuds/unremarkablegirl
Summary: In the wake of the return of her family, Contessina reflects on her time alone. She also reflects on her relationship.Exerpt: Her gaze swoop down an elegant neck to the cross laying at its base. Her eyes trace its shape, the four points sharp and jewels shimmering in the candlelight. She raises her hand, tracing over the promise laid into the hollow of her neck. It trembles. She stares. It continues to tremble. She swallows, curls her fingers into a fist, lowers her hand.
Relationships: Contessina de' Bardi/Cosimo di Giovanni de' Medici
Comments: 8
Kudos: 23





	A Promise Broken

She sets herself down in front of the mirror, waves away Emilia and bids her goodnight. She watches the door close in the mirror, lets her eyes lock onto themselves in the mirror. She stares. Big green eyes stare back, tracing over a button nose, slight lips, high cheekbones, dark hair. She blinks. Still, she sees a poised woman of status, expression blank. She continues to stare.

Her gaze swoop down an elegant neck to the cross laying at its base. Her eyes trace its shape, the four points sharp and jewels shimmering in the candlelight. She raises her hand, tracing over the promise laid into the hollow of her neck. It trembles. She stares. It continues to tremble. She swallows, curls her fingers into a fist, lowers her hand.

Her eyes follow the path of her neck, back up to themselves. Her nostrils are flared, mouth twisted and jaw clenched. She blinks, blinks again, keeps her eyes closed. Deep breath, swallow, control. Her eyes open, her jaw is still clenched but that is all. 

She drops her gaze to the table top and raises trembling fingers to release her hair. As she goes through the motions, her mind wanders, runs really. She has spent all this time alone, away from her family, with naught but Emilia and occasionally Marco Bello for company. She has been away from her son, has missed him so. As much as she loves Emilia, she is not the confidante Lucretzia is, she has not been raised to understand the intricacies of noble life. 

All this time, she has been bereft and alone, cold and adrift, yearning for her family, yearning for a sign. Not a single letter from her husband, no concern, no questions, no respect. 

She had felt a flicker of warmth, peripheral and faint when she reconnected with Ezio. Dreams lost, a future destroyed, a love denied. It would have been so easy to run with him, to let herself fall into his warmth and smiles, so freely given. She had torn herself away, knowing that her family would not forgive her, knowing her place, placing her husband before her. And for what? She had had a chance at unrestrained happiness, at a love not warped by resentment, but dared not.

Dear Cosimo, it seems, did not have the same compunctions. At his side was his brother, his confidante, and he had seen his son every morning. He was not trapped in a city hellbent on hating his family, he was not alone nor disgraced. And yet, he still felt the need for more. Still felt dissatisfaction with all that he had.

She could not fault Maddalena for wanting to find happiness but she could fault her for finding it in her husband, no? It would be so easy to place fault on her, the temptress, the one who tested her husband and won. Her hands pause in her ministrations, but would it be fair? This slave woman wanting a taste of peace, of affection just so happened to find it in her husband. She drops her hands to her lap. The fault is not with Maddalena, no, but she could not find it in herself to absolve her altogether. 

She raises her head, taking in her reflection framed now by a curtain of hair. Her face has cracked open in grief and humiliation. Her lips tremble, nostrils flare and jaw clenches. Her forehead is creased and her cheeks are sallow. Her eyes are dry. She stares, willing herself to cry. Deep breath, swallow, control. She folds away the pain, clearing her forehead of creases, unclenching her jaw, and setting her lips firm.

She raises her hands, follows the chain of the cross to the nape of her neck. The clasp comes undone, a promise broken. She takes off the necklace, holds it, admires it, nestles it amongst red lining, closes the lid on the pain in her heart and the necklace. The candle is blown out, she turns away.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, come prompt me on [tumblr](https://unremarkablegirl.tumblr.com) (also kudos and a comment would mean a lot sorry lol)


End file.
